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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 30, 2018 11:41:15 GMT -5
Remember this? "Other cars go boing, boing, boing, but a Mazda goes hmmm"
I was big in my advertising career. Ah, the iconic Mazda rotary engine... Strangest sounding cars sine the 1950's SAAB 2-strokes!Remember the ads for the 1958 FORDS? Sneaky! They put a noise meter in a new ROLLS-ROYCE, and in a new FORD sedan, and whddayouknow? The Ford was actually QUIETER! Honestly, a Rolls back then was NOT particularly quiet, but what a great campaign! TV and billboards featured a cute cartoon mouse, with his finger to his mouth in a "SHHH" motion, with a new Ford behind him. HUGE headline simply said "Quiet as a... FORD". Advertising genius.
OK, I'm showing my age... Time for a nap... LOL!Leo in Texas |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 30, 2018 0:30:58 GMT -5
... Yeah, she climbed up on my shoulders with two bags of groceries and perched there while we rode past the cameras at 40-mph!... And if I recall, I wore a helmet as/per Illinois law, but she had only the bikini... (And all viewers' gawking admiration...)...
Leo
I know who you didn't know yet back then. 'Cause I betcha she'd be the only bikini-gal allowed to ride on your shoulders. And from how you talk about her, I betcha she became the only one you wanted riding on your shoulders! So was Betty a wild child too? >'Kat Hate to disappoint, but... She was MARRIED to one of our clients!She got the job as "Grocery-Getter-Girl" mostly because she wanted to do it, AND nobody else wanted to... Duh...  She was such a good sport. Got a real charge out of seeing her "nearly nekkid self" on TV, and figured it was just a fun part of her job... We execs all decided she deserved a big perk and took a grand out of our collective paychecks and put it in her next paycheck. Nothing says "I care" quite like dead Benjamins!Holy mackerel! I just realized THAT was around TEN GRAND in today's bux!!!  I didn't have any lady in my life back then... no time. Just my old cat and 16-hour work days... That sweet old cat made it to twenty-one! I still miss him.No, Betty wasn't such a wild child. We just "fell in love at first sight" and spent the next 36 years in love. Never one argument, even through REALLY hard times. She never got the bike bug. Since she's married to me, that PROVES it's NOT contagious... LOL!Sorry it wasn't a more romantic adventure, but... "it is what it is"... Yup! Fun memories though!  Ride safe!Leo |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 30, 2018 0:12:57 GMT -5
Wish my company had a "resident bikini model". We were an ad agency which did a lot of print and TV campaigns requiring great-looking ladies. Fortunately, we had four 20-something employees who were born to wear mini-skirts, "Daisy Dukes" and string Bikinis... They had fun, and we saved a lot of hassle tracking down models... 
We always made sure they got a good bonus in their next paycheck! |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 28, 2018 23:56:06 GMT -5
Wait a minute--so she was sitting on your shoulders as you actually drove your cycle? As in your were in motion? As in, which of you was crazier?  Ye Gods! >'Kat, DEFINITELY not up to Unca Leo's riding skills!! And my riding skills THEN, were from a different planet than my riding skills TODAY... Yeah, old age "is what it is"...
Yeah, she climbed up on my shoulders with two bags of groceries and perched there while we rode past the cameras at 40-mph! I had my hands full RIDING, even though she weighed a scant 110 pounds, but she MUST have had a harder time STAYING PUT... Her head must have been over 10 feet off the ground! And she couldn't even "spread her wings" for balance! And if I recall, I wore a helmet as/per Illinois law, but she had only the bikini... (And all viewers' gawking admiration...) Passengers didn't need helmets and who's to say WHERE they rode? Like I sad, SHE was GAME! She rode a Royal Enfield 750 bobber she built herself. Royal Enfields 750's were pretty rare, but GREAT Brit bikes!
I won't even say "ride safe" on this post... LOLOL!   Leo PS: I hope I may find out takes of the ride! Somebody was taking PR stills and I hope I have one of the action... Priceless! Especially in today's over-protective world. |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 28, 2018 23:30:18 GMT -5
Unca Leo, you might be fading, but never ever grow old inside please! And I'd love to see pix of babychopperguy! Talking wild, how's the Honda doing? >'Kat
I'm afraid both me and the Missus are getting old inside and out... We caught a BAD virus last January that attacked every part of us. Since then, my sense of balance has been off to the point that I've hardly ridden. Getting better, but WAY too slow. Old age just "is what it is"... I still THINK young, but the old mind is writing checks the old body can't cash anymore...
Ah, the HONDA! Everything in life should be THAT good... First car I ever had that I absolutely CANNOT find a single thing to gripe about! Pure luxury inside, all the bells and whistles I'll ever need... 0 to 60 in 4.9 seconds with the AC on... will bury the 160-mph speedo... and still gets 20 mpg in town and 26 highway! This old geezer didn't even KNOW cars like this existed before! Oh, and yes, totally TROUBLE FREE! 
To think that years ago I would NOT have even considered a Japanese car! Well, actually THIS one WAS made in Tennessee... But all the performance goodies (motor, tranny, suspension, brakes, wheels, etc.) for the build came direct from Japan... After all, she WAS once a racer, now relegated to a more mundane role in her declining years... Sorta like me... No wonder I love her!The words sorta stick in my throat, but I believe little "Rhonda II" is possibly even more fun to drive than most of my bikes... I used to find excuses to ride, but now I find excuses to drive... Duh... I won't let the old "Mouse" languish to rust... About the time my sense of balance returns, the weather should get below 100 again... LOLOLOL! Ah, FALL! Best riding weather in Texas! I have a number of pix I need to scan. Soon, I'll do a thread sorta outlining my past 60 years. All my close friends but two have gone on to glory and it will be fun to share some memories with my Internet friends. A few of you might get a hoot out of some of my youthful adventures...Ride safe!!!Leo |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 28, 2018 10:28:52 GMT -5
Through the magic of a flashlight, Kleenex, and my $2 eBay digital camera, I was able to figure out a way to convert slides to digital pix. Woo-HOO! Old-school necessity meets new-school technology!
Among the old pix I discovered while searching for the infamous Easter Bunny shots, I found this slide taken during a smoke-break while filming a TV commercial in 1973... The lovely seat-cover on my old Hog was my media buyer. She was also our "resident bikini model"... The pic is fairly high-res, so if you want to save it, click on it to open in Postimage, full-size. Today, if she's blessed to still be with us, she's around 80. Wonder if she still has that bikini? Wonder if she still WEARS it? The reason for the attire was the commercial... for "Better Vision". They were a great client, one of the very earliest low-cost RX glasses providers. Their slogan was: "Better Vision: MAKE A 'SPECTACLE' OF YOURSELF!' "...Our commercials featured folks doing everyday activities in insanely weird ways, "making spectacles" of themselves. This ad featured our lovely bikini-clad lass on my shoulders, carrying a bag of groceries in each arm as I rode by the camera... Cheesh! She was GAME!
Enjoy! But remember, she's 80 now! 
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 28, 2018 10:08:34 GMT -5
I read about a new battery technology that might just be what the EV industry needs. The new batteries can be charged conventionally, over a few hours, or can quick charged by replacing the electralite in the depleted battery with "recharged electralite". -You would stop for a tank of electralite, similar to a gas car driver stopping for gas. I hope it works. -The new e-Vespa looks nice, but I would opt for a Boom e-Scoot. It fits my budget better.
Battery tech will certainly be the "tipping point" for electric vehicles. I saw on "The Learning Channel" a few months back that an engineer from one of the Eastern European countries has developed a truly breakthrough electric car, AND a breakthrough new BATTERY. Europe seems all a twitter over it, but he's VERY secretive (don't blame him...) afraid his technology will be stolen. Apparently, much of his creation is not patentable. The show indicated his CAR is incredibly fast... 0-60 in 2 seconds, and top speed of over 200. The range on one battery charge is something like 400 miles, and recharges take only 30 minutes. If I recall, the name of the car is the "Science". Well, marketing gurus can fix that... LOL! This stuff was video-verified on the report, so apparently he HAS made major breakthroughs in power and battery tech. The day IS coming when our beloved piston-engine cars and bikes WILL give way to electric power, like the horse gave way to early ELECTRIC vehicles, STEAM and finally with cheap petroleum, GASOLINE. As old-school as I am, I still look forward to electric vehicles. While the technology is complex, the actual product is SO marvelously simple! No gas, no oil, virtually maintenance-free compared to our present rides... No winter-starting issues, plenty of power, longevity that should far exceed piston-power and easy repair/replacement of batteries, motors, etc. should they be needed. Just last month, I saw a new Tesla totally HUMILIATE a Mercedes Benz AMG Hammer... Silently, just like it was shot from a carrier catapult... Yeah, electric is gonna be the power of the future. In the mean time, ride safe WHATEVER your power...  Leo in Texas
PS: I wonder if the oil companies will succeed in passing laws taxing electric vehicles with say, maybe $5K per year punitive "fines" for not using oil? Bet they WILL! |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 28, 2018 0:07:12 GMT -5
You're right, 'Kat does love it! Although that is just about one of the scariest things I've ever seen! Second to the guy in full bunny costume riding on the actual streets of OP! Unca Leo, you really were a wild'n'crazy one weren't you! Thanks so much for posting the pics! >'Kat, keeping her dog mask OFF while scooting!
Riding that Harley with the stupid rabbit head was one of the most difficult bike-related things I ever did... Almost as difficult as finding these pix... LOLOLOL! And a LOT of extra caution was required since I usually had at least four, up to six little rugrats climbing all over me and the bike while riding! Couldn't do something like this today. Too much regulation, but, this was old-school business and no mishaps took place. All good clean fun, and really got the restaurant off to a flying start!I think I may have some PR pix of my crew celebrating at Shipwreck's after the day's festivities. If so, I'll post! The office building in the background was where our offices were! How HANDY! Needless to say, Shipwreck Kelly's was our premier "watering hole"... Those were great days! I also found some great old memory pix in the same file... (Even the old chopper guy at 2 years old!) I'll post them when I can get some transparencies made into digital pix... Some amazing memories here... Seems like just yesterday. But was nearly a half-century ago. Today, the Fred Harvey chain is gone. Shipwreck Kelly's is gone. The old 1970 Harley dresser is gone, and, "The Old Chopper Guy" is fading pretty fast. However, good memories never die.Have a bone!
Ride safe,Leo |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 27, 2018 23:43:13 GMT -5
But Mama Mia... She's a gotta reverse!  Makes me happier than ever with what I've already got...
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 27, 2018 3:31:40 GMT -5
After literally months of digging through the darkest recesses of my stuff, I finally found the pix of me on the old Hog, as the Easter Bunny! The year was 1971. I was 25, a year out of the Army, a buff 165 pounds and blessed to be the VP and Creative Director of the hottest ad agency in the Midwest... Our flagship account was Fred Harvey, including the restaurants, Illinois tollway oasis fuel/hospitality units and the new "SHIPWRECK KELLY'S BAR AND GALLEY". And for those old enough to remember the early seventies in Illinois, yes, I was the wise guy that got the Il Tollway Authority to change those green exit signs from "Food, Fuel and Lodging" to "EAT and GET GAS"... I just never change... LOL! For the Oak Brook grand opening, we opted to use me... and my trusty Electra-Glide giving rides to all the kiddies and not just a few fun-loving adult mommies. Everybody loved a motorcycle!
Above, here I am in costume... I made SURE the bunny-head was a "friendly" one. Little kids have been scared by some of those truly grotesque bunnies that look like they came from Dr. Frankenstein's lab... Trouble with THIS one was the eyes were a foot apart, so I could only see out of ONE at a time, and then, they were obscured by black screen to hide my smiling face. It made riding nearly impossible... sense of balance was nil, I could only see a peephole size image with no peripheral vision... I had to grit my teeth and remember my riding buddies who had only one eye, and it didn't work very well... They never crashed, and thankfully, neither did I... Good thing since I often had as many as six little nippers squealing with joy... on the tank, in my lap, on my back,on the buddy seat, and both front and rear fenders...
Hey, if they can do that in INDIA on a scooter, I could doggone-well do it in Chicago! A lot of memories here... I got to do EVERYTHING... Set the whole "gala" up, hidden eggs and all, rode the bike, painted the signs... I even created an entire alphabet font for the chain: "Shipwreck" which was used in all our advertising.
Those were fun times... no liability insurance, no hassles, and no worries. Moms trusted entire litters of little ones to me and the old Hog, and nobody was disappointed.
Truly a GREAT memory from 47 long years ago... Among my lost files, I also found some pix of the Hog when new, before painting, and my old BSA Hornet, Honda 305 Superhawk AND "Old Blue"... Didn't know they even existed! I'll make a separate post on them "for posterity"... Some are slides and I'll have to convert them to digital pix. Ride safe one and all, and do NOT ride in a stupid animal head like this... After 25, you get too smart to try it and you'll surely fall on your face... LOL!Leo (having a ball perusing these old pix) in Texas
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 25, 2018 1:31:09 GMT -5
Hmmm...
Somebody has a real eye for putting JUNK together into something absolutely adorable...
"Hello Kitty" would have a ball in this... I can only consider how AMAZING this would be with a good chassis (maybe harvested from a heavy-duty ATV) and competent 3-wheel setup (two steering front wheels and single rear wheel) to avoid the 4-wheel vehicle regulations... and, of course, a highway-speed capable drive-train, maybe from a maxi-scooter. I think it's a 4-wheel "toy" made for only "parking lot speeds" but what amazing potential it has! Enjoy!Leo in Texas
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 17, 2018 23:13:14 GMT -5
"You missed the greatest days since the roaring twenties..."I wouldn't mind spending a day in the 1920s either. I have been watching Miss Fisher's Mysteries on PBS. It is set in the 1920s. I'd love to taker her Hispano Suiza for a spin.
Yeah, the twenties WERE cool... Again, party-on, great music, neat cars, plenty of work, good pay, all was good until 1929... AND... You could buy General Thompson's marvelous "Trench-Broom" at your local hardware store. The venerable "Thompson Anti-Bandit Sub-machinegun" had to be THE adult toy of the century. 50 and 100 round drums of .45ACP ammo at 800 rounds per minute! Unfortunately, it worked just as well for the bad guys as it did for ranchers, businesses, police and military.  Oh well... Such is life! |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 16, 2018 21:47:08 GMT -5
Amen...
I've always been a big fan of the "MoTown Sound" and she was truly the "Queen of Soul". Yes, rest in peace Aretha
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 16, 2018 21:40:54 GMT -5
I strongly recommend balancing... My dealer uses a very simple static balancer similar to a prop-balancer. He did all my tires when he mounted them and they are absolutely vibration-free at ANY speed. I've heard good things about "beads' too, but never tried them as my balanced tires run true and "perfect" up to top-speed.
I'm convinced after seven years that scooter handling (ESPECIALLY the small-wheel variety like the 10" 11" and 12") is affected to a GREAT degree by the tire quality, AND balance.
Back in the day, I rode mostly Harley-Davidson big twins. Choppers in my youth, dressers/baggers later on. My old Kymco 250 runs as smooth at 75 on good, well-balanced speed-rated Shinkos as any of my Hogs did. And "Minnie Mouse" rides on little 12-inchers...
Properly balanced quality tires bring small-wheel scooters MUCH closer to full-size motorcycle riding whether in-town, or at highway speeds. And preserves the nimble scooter handling.
I must add that while the Shinko tires are very good, Michelin Power Pures are slightly better. But Shinko is the ONLY brand to offer P-rated whitewalls... LOL! They'll do just fine, and provide that old-school street-tread look I want!
Ride safe!
Leo in Texas
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 15, 2018 22:36:54 GMT -5
I've got to agree with the Michelin Power Pure. My Kymco 250 uses a 120/70-12 front, and 140/70-12 rear. I ran a Michelin Power Pure P-rated (92-mph) on the rear for six years and it was fabulous. On the front, I ran a Shinko P-rated and it was very good.
The mix was because I wanted whitewalls and nobody made a 140/70-12 whitewall, so I painted the sidewalls on the Michelin. Shinko made a 120, AND 130/70-12 whitewall P-rated.
Now, Shinko makes the proper REAR tire in a P-rated whitewall, which I now have in place of the Michelin.
If you, like me, want a good WHITEWALL, I can recommend the Shinko brand. If like most, you are happy with blackwalls, the Michelin Power Pure is an EXCELLENT tire.
I highly recommend using P-rated tires even on scoots that cannot reach the 92-mph speed they're rated for because the quality of the higher speed rated tires improves handling at ALL speeds. They don't cost much more than the usual J-rated tires, but I'd use them on any scoot regardless of displacement. They just handle NOTICEABLY better.
My original Michelin with painted whitewalls now resides in my office... Too many happy miles on it to discard. Even though 7 years old, it is still in mint condition.
Good tires are always a wise investment in safety and handling, not to mention a more enjoyable handling/riding experience...
Ride safe,
Leo in Texas
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